Air conditioner and humidifier for air-heating furnaces



April 4, 1950 A w. F. SHREVE 2,503,002

AIR CONDITIONER AND HUMIDIFIER FOR AIR HEATING FURNACES Filed April 22, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ZZZ-5&2-

INVENIOR.

Patented Apr. 4, 195,0

AIR CONDITIONER AND HUMIDIFIER FOR AIR-HEATING FURNACES William F. Shreve, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application April 22, 1946, Serial N 0. 664,124

4 Claims.

The present invention relates in general to improvements in the art of air conditioning, and relates more specifically to improvements in the construction and operation of air humidifiers or the like.

The primary object of my invention is to provide an improved automatically operable air conditioner which is simple and compact in construction, and which is also reliable and elficient in operation.

Many different types of air conditioners such as air humidifiers have heretofore been proposed and some have been used commercially with varying degrees of success, but most of these prior devices are either too complicated and cumbersome for installation in ordinary moderate priced heating systems, or they are unreliable in operation and require frequent attention, or they cannot be installed or removed as compact units. It is exceedingly desirable in air humidifying assemblages, to have the humidifier controllable by a hygrostat operable by variations in room conditions and by a thermostat operable by variations in temperature of the air being delivered to the room; and it is also preferable to inject the moisture into the air as it proceeds toward its destination, in the form of a vapor or fog intimately mixed with the air. While prior attempts have been made to thus control and inject the moisture, these previous humidifying systems have not been satisfactory for the various reasons hereinabove mentioned.

It is therefore a more specific object of the present invention to provide an improved humidifier which is extremely simple and readily adapted for use in conjunction with various kinds of air heating and circulating systems, and which is adapted to function with utmost reliability and accuracy after it has been properly installed and adjusted.

Another specific object of this invention is to provide a compact humidifying unit which is readily insertible within and removable from the heat distribution dome of most standard furnaces; and which may be caused to cooperate with standard humidity control apparatus, air circulating equipment, and with available water supplies, to automatically and effectively regulate the humidity in the conditioned space.

A further specific object of my invention is to provide a simplified humidifying system, all parts of which may be manufactured or purchased at moderate cost, and which maybe conveniently installed and properly adjusted for efficient op eration, by a novice.

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Still another specific object of the invention is to provide humidifying apparatus which is flexible in its adaptations, and quickly adjustable to vary the degree of humidification, and wherein the air is also cleansed without resorting to renewable filters and other complicated purifying structure.

These and other specific objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description.

A clear conception of the features constituting my present improvement, and of the mode of constructing and operating a typical humidifying unit embodying the invention, may be had by referring to the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification, wherein like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the various views.

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic longitudinal vertical section through a typical embodiment of my improved humidifying system, showing the unit installed in the dome of an ordinary hot air furnace having forced air circulation, and cooperating with a hygrostat located in the conditioned room and with a city water supply line, and also showing the electric wiring connecting the cooperating control elements;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the humidifying unit showing the approximate location thereof within the furnace dome through which a horizontal transverse section has been taken;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged central longitudinal vertical section through the typical improved humidifying unit, taken in line with the liquid supply jet; and

Fig. 4 is a similarly enlarged transverse vertical section through the same unit, taken at right angles to the plane of Fig. 3 and between the liquid injection nozzle and the splash or atomizing plate.

While the invention has been shown as being advantageously applicable to compact units adapted to be bodily inserted within or removed from the warm air distribution zone or dome of air ordinary hot air furnace, it is not my desire or intent to unnecessarily restrict the scope or utility of the improved features by virtue of this limited disclosure.

Referring to Figs 1 and 2 of the drawings, the typical warm air humidifying and distribution system shown therein, comprises in general a hot air furnace 6 having the usual combustion chamher I and a casing 8 forming a warm air distribution dom 9 above the chamber l and communicating through pipes II] with the individual rooms to be heated, the furnace 5 also being provided with a motor driven blower II for forcing the heated air upwardly through the dome 9 and pipes 10; a humidifying unit l4, mounted upon one or more supports I5 within the furnace dome 9 and being bodily insertible within and removable from the dome upon withdrawal of a door l6 normally closing an opening in the front of the upper casing; a liquid or water supply line H for the huinidifying unit I4 communicating with a suitable source of liquid under pressure such as a city water line, and having therein an electromagnetically actuated valve 18 and a shut-off valve it; a hygrostat 22 located at a suitable location in one of the rooms to be conditioned, and being adapted to operate an electric switch for controlling the opening of the solenoid valve l3; and a thermostat 23 located within the furnace dome S and being adapted to control the operation of the blower H, the thermostat 23, hygrostat 22, valve !8, and blower ll being supplied with current from a main line 24 through a main switch 25.

The furnace 6 with its dome a, heating chamber 1, piping l6 and blower H are all of relatively standard construction, as are also the valves l8, l9 and the hygrostat 22 and thermostat 33; and the water supply line I! is preferably connected to the nozzle supply pipe 23 forming part of the unit I4, by means of a detachable pipe coupling 2?. The brackets or supports for the humiditying unit It may also be of any suitable formation, but should not undesirably obstruct the free flow of warm air to the rear and opposite side inlet openings of the unit IA.

The improved humidifying unit M which constitutes an important part of my present invention, is shown in detail in Figs. 3 and 4 and comprises in general an upper casing forming an atomizing zone 30 and having a laterally widened top plate 3i secured to a front bracket to and being provided with a rear end plate 33; opposite inwardly and downwardly directed bafiles or louver panels 34, 35, 3E suspended from the bracket 48 and end plate 33 and forming similarly directed side air inlet passages; a rear baffle 3'. secured to the rear end plate 33 and cooperating with a rear air inlet passage leading into the zone 30; a lower drip pan or trough 38 disposed beneath the atomizing zone with the front bracket 43 and top plate 3! to provide a relatively large and unobstructed outlet opening 39 connecting the zone 38 with the dome 5; an impact and atomizing plate or block 4| secured to the rear casing wall or plate 33 within the upper portion of the zone 33; and a jet producing nozzle 42 communicating with the. water supply pipe 26 and being adjustably supported from the trough 38 by a bracket 43 so to direct a liquid jet 44 block 4!.

The casing including the top plate 3|, the end bracket 43, the plate 33, and the louver panels 34, 35, 36 and bafile 31, as well as the trough 33 and brackets 43, 43, may all be formed of durable sheet metal, and should be firmly united to provide a rigid unit adapted to be mounted within the dome 3 upon the brackets l5; and the closure door it and front opening in the casing 3 should be of sufficient size to permit free bodily insertion and removal of the unit i4 when the coupling 2! has been disconnected and the pipe has been unscrewed. The drain trough 33 which provides a closed bottom for the zone 33 is considerably narrower than the top plate 31, and is preferand cooperating centrally against the the humidifier.

ably provided with a drain pipe 41 for removing excess free liquid which may be deposited in the trough 38. The rear wall or plate 33 may also be provided with a lower apron 48 for directing liquid toward the drain trough 38; and the outer ends of the louver panels 34, 35, 36 and of the bafile 3'! may be curved as shown in order to properly direct the entering warm air into the humidifying zone 30.

The splash plate or atomizing block "4 against which the jet 44 is directed by the nozzle 42, has a conical concave impact surface 50 and is carried by a rod 51 which is firmly clamped to the casing wall or plate 33 and to the rear bracket 43 by means of nuts 52 coacting with resilient washers 53. These washers 53 are preferably formed of resilient material such as rubber, and serve to prevent noise due to vibration of the block 4| during normal operation of the unit. The jet producing nozzle 42 may be of any suitable construction adapted to produce a forcible jet 44 of liquid, and in order to facilitate proper alinement of the jet 44 with the center of the impact surface 53, the nozzle 42 is mounted upon the swing ing end of a rigid pipe 54 which is in open communication with the fixed supply pipe 25, and the opposite end of which is mounted in a pivot element 55 swingably adjustably confined within a spherical casing 56, see Fig. 3. The casing 56 is formed of upper and lower sections adapted to clainpingly engage the element 55 and to frictionally retain the pipe 54 in various positions of angular adjustment, and the spherical casing may be firmly secured to the bracket 43 by means oi clamping nuts 57.

During normal use of the improved humidifying apparatus, after the unit H has been properly constructed and assembled, it may be readily installed within the furnace dome 9 and the nozzle 42 should be properly adjusted with the aid of the element 55 and casing 53 so as to direct the jet 44 centrally of the impact surface 50 of the block M. The door 15 may then be closed and the permanent connection to the liquid supply pipes 26, I! may thereafter be made. After the hygrostat 22, thermostat 23, and valve 48 have been properly electrically connected to the main line 24, and the blower H has been likewise connected to the electrical circuit, the hygrostat 22 may be set to the desired humidity, and the thermostat 23 should also be set to properly control the temperature within the furnace dome 9, whereupon the system may be placed in operation by closing the switch 25. When the humidity within the room in which the hygrostat 22 is confined drops below the pre-determined setting, the valve 18 will be automatically opened by the solenoid associated therewith, and liquid will be admitted from the supply line H to the nozzle 42 and a jet 44 of the liquid will be forcibly delivered against the impact surface 50 of the block 4|. A fine jet 44 thus delivered at high velocity against the impact surface 50, will be atomized and delivered in the form of vapor or fog throughout the zone 30 of The blower II will function to force warm air upwardly into the zone 38 past the louver panels 34, 35, 36 and past the deflector 3'1, and the warm air thus admitted to the zone 30 will whirl about the cold water jet 44 and will pick up the vapor, eventually being delivered in humidified condition through the opening 33 into the dome 8 from whence it will pass through the pipes ill to the several rooms. When the humidity of the rooms has reached the point to which the hygrostat 22 has been set, this hygrostat will promptly close the valve l8 and stop the flow of water tothe zone 30.

The blower II will continue to function under control of the thermostat 23 until the temperature in the dome 9 has dropped sufficiently to open the circuit and stop the blower, it being understood that the temperature within the dome 9 is under control of the ordinary room thermostat.

When the temperature in the dome 9 again rises to a point where the thermostat 23 starts the blower, and the humidity in the room reaches the low point, the hygrostat 22 closes the circuit and opens the valve l8 thus again furnishing water vapor to the zone 3!] and humidity to the dome 9. The valve i8 however cannot open unless the temperature in the dome 9 is sufficiently high to start the blower I I, and while the hygrostat 22 may call for humidity the valve 18 will not open until the blower I I is operating.

The hygrostat 22 and thermostat 23 may be set to maintain the desired conditions within the rooms, and the pipes it may also be provided with the usual damper valves in order to insure proper disposition of the conditioned air. It will be noted, however, that during normal operation the from reaching the outlet ipes It, thus insuring uniform humidification of the air passing through the furnace.

From the foregoing detailed description it will be apparent that my present invention provides an improved humidifying system which besides being automatic in operation, is also thoroughly reliable in use and insures most effective humidification of the rooms with which the system is associated. The improved humidifying unit which is bodily insertible within or removable from the hot air circulating dome 9, is of exceedingly simple and compact construction, but is also highly eflicient and dependable in operation, and this unit [4 is obviously adapted to be applied to Various types of heaters. block 4! cooperate to effectively disintegrate the jet 44 so as to produce vapor or fog throughout the zone 30, and these elements may obviously be adjusted so as to insure most effective cooperation thereof. vapor produced within the zone 30 also functions to remove impurities from the air, thus insuring the delivery of pure humidified air from the unit M. The improved humidifying system has proven highly satisfactory and successful in actual use, and can be manufactured and installed at moderate cost without the assistance of a skilled mechanic. All of the elements of the improved unit are obviously well-protected against tampering although being readily accessible for inspection, and no attention such as replacement of filters is necessary after the unit has once been placed in proper operating condition. With the improved system, liquid is delivered to the humid-- ifying zone 30 only when warm air is being forced through this zone by the blower 23, so that the vapor is promptly picked up and thoroughly mixed with the passing air, and no free liquid is admitted to the unit when no warm air is present to remove it.

The nozzle 42 and impact In the improved apparatus, the fog or The It should be understood that itis not" desired to limit this invention to the exact details of construction or to the precise mode of use herein shown and described, for various modifications within the scope of the appended claims may occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A humidifier unit cooperable with the upper warm air outlet of a hot air furnace, said unit comprising, an elongated lower approximately horizontal trough disposable within the furnace outlet, a similarly elongated top plate mounted above said trough and cooperating therewith to form an upwardly expanded humidifying zone having an elongated unobstructed space directly above the trough, a series of louvers connecting each longitudinal side edge of said top plate with the adjacent trough edge and forming series of opposite horizontally elongated warm air passages directed downwardly at their lower ends toward said trough and communicating at their upper outer ends directly with the furnace outlet beyond the opposite sides of the trough, and means for producing liquid spray within said zone between said passages and above said unobstructed space.

2. A humidifier unit cooperable with the upper warm air outlet of a hot air furnace, said unit comprising, an elongated lower approximately horizontal trough disposable within the furnace outlet, a similarly elongated top plate having downwardly directed opposite side edges and being mounted above said trough and cooperating therewith to form an upwardly expanded humidifying zone having an elongated narrower unobstructed space directly above the trough, a series of parallel louvers connecting the lower portion of each longitudinal side edge of said top plate with the adjacent trough edge and forming series of opposite horizontally elongated warm air passages directed downwardly at their lower inner ends toward said trough and communicating at their upper outer ends directly with the furnace outlet beyond the opposite sides of the trough, and means for producing liquid spray within said zone between said passages and above said unobstructed space and said passages.

3. A humidifier unit cooperable with the upper warm air outlet of a hot air furnace, said unit comprising, an elongated lower approximately horizontal trough disposable within the furnace outlet, a similarly elongated top plate mounted above said trough and cooperating therewith to form an upwardly enlarging humidifying zone having an elongated narrower unobstructed space directly above the trough, a series of louvers connecting each longitudinal side edge of said top plate with the adjacent trough edge and forming series of opposite parallel elongated warm air passages directed downwardly at their lower inner ends toward said trough and communicating at their upper outer ends directly with the furnace outlet beyond the opposite sides of the trough, means for also conducting warm air from the furnace outlet into one end of said unobstructed space, the opposite end of said space being open, and means for producing liquid spray within said zone between said passages and above said unobstructed space.

4. A humidifier unit cooperable with the upper warm air outlet of a hot air furnace, said unit comprising, an elongated lower approximately horizontal trough disposable within the furnace outlet, a similarly elongated top plate having downwardly directed opposite side walls and being mounted above said trough and cooperating therewith to form an upwardly enlarging humidifying zone having an elongated narrower unobstructed space directly above the trough, a series of louvers connecting the lower edge of each longitudinal side wall of said top plate with the adjacent trough edge and forming series of opposite elongated Warm air passages directed downwardly at their lower inner ends toward said trough and communicating at their outer upper ends directly with the furnace out let beyond the opposite sides of the trough, means for also conducting warm air from the furnace outlet longitudinally into one end of said space, the opposite end of the space being open for the escape of humidified air, and means for producing liquid spray within said zone between said passages and above said unobstructed space.

WILLIAM F. SI-IREVEv 8 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

